Nebula Awards

[coalescent]

They got all the Nebula awards wrong!

Well, ok, maybe not all. I haven't read Stable Strategies & Other Stories (yet), but I'm willing to believe Eileen Gunn's story was the best of the nominated stories. And though I'm a confirmed Bujold sceptic and find it really hard to believe Paladin of Souls measures up to Cloud Atlas or Perfect Circle (or The Knight or Down and Out In The Magic Kingdom, to be honest), I have to admit that I haven't read that, either.

But even though most of the interesting novellas (particularly 'Arabian Wine', 'Sergeant Chip' and 'Off On A Starship') got lopped off at the preliminary ballot stage, and even though 'The Green Leopard Plague' is a good story, surely 'The Cookie Monster' and 'The Tangled Strings of the Marionnettes' were better?

And as for novellette and script, well ... all I can think of to say is that both Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and 'The Voluntary State' were robbed, plain and simple.

Comments

[benpeek.livejournal.com]

all awards are toss, man. you should instead do an analysis of the people in that photo and the similarities they all have, on a purely surface flesh level. it's about as revelant.

[nwhyte]

They always get the Nebula Awards wrong.

I completely agree on the novella and novelette categories (especially the overlooking of "Arabian Wine" which I can only put down to the lingering aftereffects of the great Ellison feud).

I'm sentimentally defensive of both Paladin of Souls and ROTK, especially since the former gives Bujold her second joint Hugo/Nebula win and gives me a happy reason to extend my list. But I concede that you have a point.

In the short story category, the winner was good but barely sfnal; I still feel that "Embracing-The New" by Benjamin Rosenbaum was the only one with much merit.

I promised myself (after feeling that I'd been whining too much about this in previous years) that I would not initiate any discussion on rasfw on this topic. However if someone else were to do so, I would happily pile on...

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I'm used to disagreeing with voted awards, it's just that I don't normally have to do so in every category. Ah well.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

I don't dislike ROTK--it's great. But the script for Eternal Sunshine is just stunning. And 'Embracing-The-New' would be my pick of the stories I've read, certainly.

However if someone else were to do so, I would happily pile on...

Heh. Don't tempt me... :)

[iainjclark.livejournal.com]

I don't dislike ROTK--it's great. But the script for Eternal Sunshine is just stunning.

My feelings exactly.

[ajr.livejournal.com]

I don't dislike ROTK--it's great.

But surely you must admit that of all the parts of ROTK that could be considered great, the script is most certainly not one of them.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

I actually think the script deserves a fair bit of credit for managing (in my opinion :p ) to get a good film out of a book that verges on unreadable. But yes, I agree that in absolute terms it's not an award-worthy script.

[chance88088.livejournal.com]

Fix your link to "Sergeant Chip" please - This one works.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Oops--I just assumed the links from the Nebula page were current. Thanks.

[chance88088.livejournal.com]

I dunno, it was all battle-battle-battle battle-battle-battle. More battle-battle-battle. Gollum dies. the end.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the movie, but I really think the script was no great shakes and a large part of my enjoyment came from my attachment to the actors from the other movies. (blasphemy, I know)

[nwhyte]

OK, it's started!

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Done! Although it basically consists of saying 'me too' to Rich Horton's post...